The sky was grayish dark, and the temples lying beneath it looked even darker. Every inch of the place overflowed with oppressiveness and darkness that sank into the bones. Anyone who entered would feel as if a Devil God clamped ice-cold fingers around their throat without letting go.
This was the Divine Temple and the abode of the Lightless Divine Regent.
A Divine Regent's Temple is usually the most sacred place in the entire Kingdom of God, and very few are allowed to get close, much less enter it. In other Kingdoms of God, it is a place that gathers the faith of all citizens, but here it is the most dreaded place in the entire kingdom. No one is willing to go near it, much less step inside. Even the guards stationed outside remain there only because they have no choice.
Clack!
Suddenly, a noise disturbed the silence. It was soft but impossibly clear within the oppressive environment. Then the doors and barriers of the temple were abruptly and forcefully opened, allowing the faint light from outside to shine into the temple that was shrouded in absolute darkness.
Tap! Tap!
Slowly, two figures entered the temple, the sound of their footsteps echoing through the completely silent hall.
Suddenly, a corner of the space tore open, and an invisible oppressive pressure poured out of nowhere and crashed down on them with violent force.
"Shenwu Youluan, do you have a death wish?" A frigid voice cut through the air, making the already dark space feel even heavier. "You dared to come here without permission and even brought a disgusting creature with you?"
The imperious voice belonged to a woman, but it was painfully unpleasant to hear. Every word she spoke felt like a poisoned knife stabbing into one's ear and heart. It was more unbearable than even the Moon Slaughter Devil Sovereign's voice.
This Divine Temple was Shenwu Yanye's abode, and without her permission, no one was allowed to enter. If someone did enter, they had to show obedience. It had to be absolute obedience. Even more important was the rule that no man was ever allowed inside.
This was a capital crime punishable by the extermination of eighteen clans and torture for 10,000 years!
To Shenwu Yanye, who viewed obedience as the purest form of submission and loyalty, even the slightest hint of disobedience was unforgivable.
"Eww! Her voice is disgusting, I feel my ears getting dirty!" Hei Xiaolian recoiled in disgust, placing her index finger on her lips as she said aloud, "Should we just kill her?"
"Shenwu Yanye," Shenwu Youluan flinched and almost dropped to her knees out of pure habit the moment she heard that voice.
"I'll take care of her. You just deal with the others, okay?" Yun Wuji stepped in front of her, shielding her. "Toxic feminist Divine Regent, could you stop dragging everyone into your relationship problems?"
Honestly, hearing her backstory, he did pity her. After all, she had been almost the perfect Goudere, devoting everything to a single man, only for her feelings to be trampled on cruelly. But that didn't fucking justify her actions at all.
In this Abyss alone, Yun Wuji could casually encounter someone who had experienced countless times more tragedy. Every day, there were men and women who had been betrayed by their loved ones, had their entire families exterminated before their eyes, or had their life's work stolen from them. Some had even witnessed their loved ones being violated in front of them.
All before dying an absolutely gruesome death, or being crippled and left to die.
An example of that is Pan Buwang. The guy in the novel arguably suffered thousands of times more than Shenwu Yanye could ever imagine. His life was almost as pitiful, if not more, than Fen Juechen's. Yet he still held strong and never blamed his shitty life on the entire world.
'Speaking of which, what happened to Fen Juechen?' Yun Wuji suddenly remembered that pitiful man.
Although the Burning Heaven Clan had offended Cang Yue and him, he had only extorted them and then forgotten about them entirely. They were just a tiny clan in a tiny country on a tiny planet, completely unworthy of his attention.
With the death of Xuanyuan Wentian, Fen Juechen should have been able to live his life normally for a few more years before his soul dispersed or he met a wretched death.
The technique of reincarnation that his parents used was a twisted method that fused the user's soul with another person, meaning their soul would never be complete. Not to mention, their soul was inherently incompatible with that body. This was a method that went against the natural order, and the user was destined to suffer retribution, enduring bad luck and misery for their entire life.
"A man not only daring to breathe the same air as I do, but also daring to speak to me, audacious!" The voice from behind the dark curtain grew colder and harsher, every word dripping with bone-deep hatred. It was as if every living being in the world were her sworn enemy.
"Ignorant bitch, she needs a good beating. Obviously, you are the one and only Yun Wuji in this universe. This cunt should be thanking all that is holy and unholy that you are gracing her with your presence!" Before Yun Wuji could even feel offended, Hei Xiaolian was already fuming. She yelled, "Fuck! I already dislike her so much! If this old hag says one more thing like that, I am not accepting any redemption arc for her!"
"...She has gone too far this time," Li Suo added, her voice carrying agreement, which was rare for her to share Hei Xiaolian's opinion.
Yun Wuji blinked at their reactions, his lips curling upward subconsciously. Somehow, it felt good.
He took a step forward, his figure flashing as he appeared in front of the curtain. With a violent sweep of his hand, the curtain was flung aside, revealing the person beneath. A person? Could this still be considered a woman?
Draped in a dark robe that concealed her entire body, revealing little more than her face and hands, stood a skinny woman. Her skin was dark, and with Yun Wuji's perception, he could peer into the hood and see her face. She was withered like a mummy, her eye sockets sunken deep into her skull, her nose dried up and barely visible.
Her skin was coarse and wrinkled; she was only barely more better looking than Tutankhamun's mummy.
"Shit! No wonder her personality is twisted as fuck!" Hei Xiaolian nearly jumped out of her spot upon seeing her. "If I were her, I would have turned into a Twitter toxic feminist too!" With the invention of the internet in the Primal Chaos, apps like Twitter, TikTok, Youprofound, Instaprofound, and others already existed, some even built into the iProfound.
Social media gave birth to some strange creatures, and the Twitter Toxic Feminist was one of them. The majority of them were disciples from exclusively female sects.
Rumble! Rumble!
"How dare you?!!" A vast chaotic aura filled with malice, hatred, and fury spread violently, making the entire temple shake. Not only that, the entire Kingdom trembled, and the already dark sky grew even darker, terrifying all the citizens.
Shenwu Yanye stared at the man before her, her eyes remaining cold despite his perfect features. "I will skin you alive and burn your soul for all eternity!" Yun Wuji had moved fast earlier, not giving her any time to react. By the time she registered what happened, he had already flung the curtain open.
After inheriting the Divine Power, she not only lost her eyesight but also lost a large portion of her lifespan. Right now, she had a little over three hundred years left to live. More importantly, her body, which could not contain all that divine power, had turned into this abomination.
Despite claiming that women did not need to care about their looks and expressing disdain for women trying to appear attractive, especially in front of men, she never actually allowed anyone to see her since becoming the Divine Regent. She always hid behind curtains, even when traveling. Anyone with the slightest sense could tell that she hated how she looked and carried a deep sense of inferiority.
The power unleashed by a True God's full fury slammed toward Yun Wuji. If this attack were to hit him, it would do nothing to him, but it would certainly destroy the Temple and perhaps even the entire city.
Yun Wuji took a step forward. As he stretched out his hand, a white grey light appeared in his palm. It grew rapidly, and in the next instant, it enveloped both of them before shrinking into a tiny dot.
"Where did they go?!" Shenwu Youluan stared at the scene with wide eyes, her face pale and droplets of sweat running down her forehead. Shenwu Yanye's outburst earlier had been brief, but it still made her feel as if she had been only half a step away from death.
She hurriedly rushed to the spot where Yun Wuji and Shenwu Yanye had disappeared and searched around, but found nothing. Panic began to rise within her as she looked frantically, but after a few moments, she tried to calm herself. The one who had used that move was Yun Wuji; logically, he should be fine.
She turned and walked out of the temple, thinking, 'A fight between True Gods would be absolutely devastating. If it took place here, it would bring total destruction to the entire Kingdom.'
"Yun Wuji must have thought of this and taken that crazy woman somewhere else to avoid destroying this place…" Ignoring the knocked-out guards, Shenwu Youluan flew to the underground dungeon where her daughter was being held, thinking, "He is such a gentle and caring guy. Even now, he is still helping us without asking for anything!"
"As expected of someone willing to help us without asking for anything!"
"He is truly a Saint, sent to us by the heavens!"
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Inside an infinitely vast silver-grey domain, Yun Wuji stood facing the hunched-backed Shenwu Yanye. Dozens of explosions erupted as she flung her withered arms wildly, attacking him with frantic desperation.
"Ma'am, calm your tits," Yun Wuji said, casually dodging her attacks with his hands behind his back. He tilted his head and added, "Oh, you don't have them anymore. Sorry about that."
"I didn't mean to… or did I?"
BOOMMMM!
"Bastard! Die!" His words struck something in the crazed Divine Regent, igniting her fury as she rushed toward him.